Sliding doors



Dec. 25, 1956 Filed Oct. 24. 1950 F. w. KIEKERT 2,774,993

SLIDING DOORS 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Afrika/fx Dec. 25, 1956 F. w. KIEKERT 2,774,993

SLIDING DooRs Filed oct. 24, 195o 9 sheets-sheet 2 llllllllo F. W. KIEKERT SLIDING DOORS Dec. 25, 1956 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 24. 1950 Dec. 25, 1956 F. w. KIEKERT 2,774,993

SLIDING DOORS Filed OCT.. 24. 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 i l 5 r 5 i In Verf for.'

Dec. 25, 1956 F. w. KIEKERT 2,774,993

SLIDING DOORS Filed Oct. 24. 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 25, 1956 F. w. KIEKERT 2,774,993

SLIDING DooRs Filed oct. 24, 195o s sheets-sheet e Il 73a,

liti 301.301J

Dec. 25, 1956 Filed Oct. 24. 1950 F. W. KIEKERT SLIDING DOORS 9 Sheets-Sheet '7 F. W. KIEKERT SLIDING DOORS Dec. 25, 1956 9 Sheets-Shes?l 8 Filed Ot. 24. 1950 Dec. 25, 1956 F. w. KIEKERT 2,774,993

SLIDING DOORS Filed Oct. 24, 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 i as l M \5 51.915.

United States Patent SLIDING DOORS Friedrich Wilhelm Kiekert, Heiligenhaus, Germany Application October 24, 1950, Serial No. 191,831

Claims priority, application Germany October 31, 1949 14 Claims. (Cl. 20-24) Another object of the invention is to provide an im,

proved sliding door which does not require guiding or supporting means for they door which project beyond the wall of the vehicle when the door is lifted or moved.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sliding door which combines great safety with small maintenance costs, which has a simple construction of pleasant form and which does not require special openings or other discontinuities in the construction onv frame work` of the vehicle.

The door of the invention is supported by or suspended from a rod by means of 'ai lever arrangement having one or two arms, the supporting rod being movably arranged on rollers and slidable with the door. The supporting rod serves as a swivel or bearing shaft for the lever arrangement. The lifting of the door, that is, its `movement out of the plane of the vehicle wall is eifectedby tilting the lever arrangement. This lever in turn is tilted by guiding one of its arms by rollers in a suitably curved rail or channel-shaped guiding member. These suspension, guiding and tilting members may be located in the upper portion of the door only or in both the upper and lower door portions. It is also feasible to utilize several lever arrangements instead of one. It has been found that the operation of the sliding door of the invention maybe further improved by replacing the lever arrangements having two arms with single-arm supporting leversl disposed in the upper and lower door portions which are adapted to tilt in opposite directions and 4toward each other. In this case it is also feasible to secure the guiding rollers, which effect a rotation of the supporting rods, directly on the supporting levers.

By arranging the supporting levers in this manner the transmission of the force to the tiltable guiding Vmembers of the door is more favorable whereby the force required to actuate the door is considerably reduced. Furthermore, the guide members of the sliding door can be disposed in a very small space in the interior of the vehicle and require few additional parts.

A particularly favorable arrangement which makes it possible to provide a step-like entrance to the vehicle is obtained when the supporting lever acting on the lower half of the door is llinked to an arm rigidly connected to the door. By suitable choice of the length and height of this intermediate member or arm it is possible to provide' any desired relation or dimension of the entrance steps.

It has been found suitable particularly if the sliding 2,774,998 Patented Dec. 25, 1956 moving alongxed supporting rods. The tubes serve essentially the purpose to secure the supporting levers and to support the door leaves suspended from the levers along as long a distance as desired by means of the supporting rollers moving over the supporting rod. Consequently, the door is not subject to undesirable vibrations in its open position or in any intermediate position.

It has been found that sliding doors ofl the construction hereinabove described, can be lifted out of the vehicle wall and opened easily from the outside without encountering any appreciable resistance, while the opening of the door from theV interior of the vehicle requires a larger amount of force. This is caused by the fact that when the door is opened from the outside, a component or a vector of the force is elfective in the direction of the movement of the door out of the vehicle Wall plane, while when the door is actuated from the interior of the vehicle, this component is in a direction opposite to the intended movement of the door.

In order to improve this operating condition the door is provided, in accordancewith the invention, with means which make lifting and opening of the door from the exterior of the vehicle as easy as from the interior, even if the door has a considerable weight.

To this end an additional arrangement is provided which rst unlocks the door and thereafter initiates lifting thereof from the plane of the vehicle. This arrangement includes essentially a pressure rod disposed parallel to the vertical door edge which is lifted by the inner door handle arrangedrvto be tilted. Since the upper end of this pressure rod is connected with the lower end of the supporting lever which effects -the lifting and tilting of n the door, the door is lifted a small distance from the plane of the vehicle wall .when `the pressure rod is lifted. When the door .is moved laterally, further lifting of the door is eected by the slide rail which is disposed in the interior of the vehicle-.and which cooperates with the supporting lever.

It is also essential that the pressurel rod which has the above describedfunction also serves the purpose` to unlock the` door. To this end a lever arrangement which preferably is disposed. vhorizontally at the height of the door bolt is connected to the pressure rod by means of anangle lever or the-like. When' the pressure rod is lifted by actuating or tilting the inner door handle, lthe lever whichactuates the door bolt and which is connected to the pressure rod, tilts -in such a manner that the bolt is removed and the doorr is unlocked.l A further lifting.

ofthe pressure rod by the inner door handle initiates the tilting movement of the supportinglever from which the door is suspended and therefore the lifting of the door away from the v vehicle plane. This movement is easily eifected by actuating the inner door handle by means of the pressure rod; the further displaeementof the door with the invention as viewed from theI interior-of the vehicle having supportingrlevers with two arms;

Fig. 2 isaside viewjpartly in section, of thedoor of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a side view, partly in section land on enlarged i scale, of the upper portion of the door of Fig. 1 with its suspension and-guide means; l l

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a'modication ofthe door of Fig. l whichi's suspended'byk a pair of Supporting levers as viewed from the interiorof the vehicle, Fig. 4 showing the closed position and Fig. 5 the openfpo'sition ofthe* door;

Fig.;.6is a side view, partly yin section and on enlarged scale, of another. modication .ofthe suspension and actu.- atjng members illustrated in the closed and opened position of the door;

Fig.A 7 is a front view, as viewedV-fromthe-interior-ofthe -vehicleyof a door having one'leadand-supporting Fig. 13 isa sectional view onl enlarged scaleillustrating theA upper-suspension .mechanism`A of the door of-Fig 10;

Fig..- 14 is alfront view of the.unlockingandlifting arrangementV of alslidingidoor. in accordance .with the invention with the door panel removed;

Fig, .l is a plan .view of Vthewdoor of'Fig. .14,l with parts broken away, the inner door handle being-illustrated in different operating positions; and

Fig. 16 is a side view of the lifting arrangement of the door in accordance with Fig. 14.`

Referring ynowuto the drawings,= andparticularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the `door 1 which is..to be displaced laterally with respect to the outer wall 2 of .the vehicle is ush with the vehicle wall 2 in its closedposition. In accordance with the inventionthe. door is. suspended from .a rod 3 disposed ata short ldistance fromand above its `upperedge which, together with the door, is guided in the interiorof the vehicle (Figs..1 to 3) by guide meansconsisting ofrollers 4. This rod 3 serves as tilting axisfor a two-arm lever supporting arrangement 5 secured to rod 3. The door is movably mounted on'one of the lever arms 6 while the other lever arm 17 isguided by rollers 9 moving in a rail 8 arranged in. the interior of .the vehicle so that when the door is .removed from or out ofthe plane of the vehicle wall, the lever supporting arrangement 5, 6, 7 can be. rigidly connectedwith the .rod or tube which latter is then `rotated in its guide means 4 when the door is removed. It is, of course, also feasible to provide. a supporting rod having other crosssectional shapes in which case the lever supporting .arrangement 5, 6, 7 may be-tilted about the rod.

Such a construction .is illustrated in Figs. 4 ,and 5 wherein the supporting lever arms` 6 of the supporting.

leverarrangement are connected tooneside of the supporting rod.3 and are shaped as an arc .or bow so that they can pass between -the rollers'4 withoutobstructing the same. The vother lever arm 7 which 4effects tilting .of the Vsupporting, leverarrangement is alsodisposed on one side of the rollers. 4, as is thesuitably bentortcurved guide rail 8. This construction ofthe. supporting` lever arrangement has the further advantage Vthat. .the supporting rod 3 may be ,made comparativelyshort and `that any desired number of rollers 4 'may-be providedgtherefor. In Figs. 4 and 5 themovement of the supportingflever arms 5, 6, 7 is shown from the. closed .position into theI sliding member 10. The displacement or the tiltingofthe door from the closed toftheopen position -,is again effected by the guide rail 8 the rollers 9 provided at vthe free end of lever arm 7 being omitted, Itis ,also feasible.

to `tilt thev lever v6,17 in order: to liftuthe` door byfconnecting it rigidly vwith Athe sliding member 10 .which `runs intherail V12 andlby rotating lthis sliding .member toge tl 1erwithV its rail.l

Finally it is also possible to arrange the supporting and tilting lever6, 7 as single-arm levervwhich is then tilted by a guiding means or against a stop which acts directly on the lever arrangement 6, thereby causing the supporting arrangement and the door to move into the lifted position,

Several embodiments of a sliding door provided with a one arm lever are shown in Figs. 7 to 14. In the embodiment of Figs. 7 to 9 the upper part of the door is swingably connected by bolt 13a with the supporting lever 14- which, in turn, issecured to the supporting rod 3 and may be displaced, together `with the rod` by means of pairs of rollers 4. In recess 15 of the lever arm 14 a rotatable guide roller 16 is providedwhich .cooperates with the channel-shaped ,rail -8, the. end of which is bentof at a small angle.

A supporting arm 17 is secured to the lower portion of the door and in the free end of the same the other supporting lever 18 is journalled in such a manner that the tilting Varms of the supporting levers 14 and 18 are directed toward each other. The residual supporting and guiding means of the lower door portion are identical with the corresponding parts of the upper door portion.

The just described and illustrated arrangement of the,

supporting levers 14 and 18 makes it possible to save considerable space. very simple manner steps 19 and.20 for entering Vthe vehicle. The space indicated by arrow 21.may be covered by a protecting sheet (not shown) when the door is closed, and this sheet may be displaced together with the supporting arm 17.

TheI doorvoperates in the same manner as the door shown in Figs. 1 to 6 and previously described. Whenl the door 1 is opened, the rollers 16 move against the inclined portion of the rail 8 and both supporting levers 14 and 18 tilt to bring the door into theposition shown bythe dash lines where it is lifted away from the plane of the vehicle 2. Thereafter the door which is suspended from the supporting rods 3 may be displaced laterally along the rollers 4. When the door is closed, the just described movement ltakes place in the opposite direction.

Figs. 10 to 13 illustrate a slidingdoor having two wings`22 and 23. The general construction is essentially they same as shown in Figs. 7 to 9. Also in this case supporting levers 14 and `18 are provided in the upper and lowerl portion of each door wing, the levers having tilting arms which are disposed to face each other. In accordance with the invention the hubs of the supporting levers'are-rigidly secured totubes 24 which are connected with roller housings 25 so as to transmit power.` The rollersy disposed in these housings roll along the outer surface of supporting rods 26 which are rigidly con-1 nected to the wall of the vehicle or the like and which may, for-example; consist of tubes. Suitably an annular free space 27 is provided between the supporting rodsy 26 and the tubes 24 so that, when the door is displaced, only rolling friction is present.

When the door wing 22 and 23 are opened or dis- .l

may lreadily be displaced laterally along the supporting rods.

Figs. 14 to 16 illustrate anl unlocking and lifting arrangement in accordance with the invention which makes it possible to lift` the vehicle door from the .inside of the vehicle from. its closed position out of the plane.

ofV the vehiclezwall, without exerting .any appreciable force. As shown in Figs. 14 and` 15 the door handle 29 which is disposedin the inside of the vehiclejlmay be tiltedabout its pin..-28,. The cam. or stud 30 of ,handle 29.cooperates..with.one leg of a lever.31 which, inturn,4

It is also possible to provide in a.

acts upon a pressure rod 33 arranged parallel to the vertical door edge. The upper end 38 of the pressure rod 33 is rotatably connected with the lower end of the supporting lever 14 which is disposed in the interior of the vehicle. The supporting lever 14 is the essential part of the lifting device because it -is supported by the rod 3 disposed between the rollers 4 and is journalled to the door at 13a. When the supporting lever 14 together with the rod 3 is tilted in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 16, the door islifted entirely away from the plane of the vehicle. This tiliting of the rod 3 is effected by a suitably positioned channel-shape rail 8 cooperating with the rollers 16 arranged on the supporting lever 14. Shortly after the opening movement of the door is initiated by lifting the pressure rod 33, an additional force acts on the supporting lever 14 and consequently an appreciable reduction of the necessary force is obtained just at the beginning of the opening movement of the door from the interior.

Unlocking of the door by the inner door handle 29 is effected through rod 35 disposed at the height of the door lock bolt 34. The rod 35 is connected through an angle lever 36 or the like to the pressure rod 33 because the other end of the angle lever engages a bolt 37 on the rod 33.

When the inner door handle is first tilted, the lifting device or pressure rod 33 effects at lrst the withdrawal of the lock bolt 34; upon further tilting of the door handle tilting of the lever 14 is effected, from which the door is suspended. It has been found that in this manner very heavy doors can be easily moved from the wall of the vehicle with which they are ush in their closed position and then displaced laterally as conventional sliding doors. It is also important that regardless of whether the door is opened from the inside or from the outside, the force required remains the same.

The sliding door of the present invention is suitable for vehicles and particularly for railway cars. It solves the problem with the simplest means which are particularly adapted to its purpose of lifting a sliding door which is normally llush with the plane of the vehicle wall and of displacing the door laterally parallel to the wall of the vehicle from the inside or outside of the vehicle with- -out the necessity of disposing any means which effect movement of the door outside of the vehicle. In contradistinction to the known devices of this type it is possible to lift the sliding door of the invention only so much before its lateral displacement commences as this is required by the parts of the door, such as the door handle; this is made possible by the particular arrangement of the suspension and displacement means of the sliding door in conformity with the invention.

This invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment and it will be understood that many variations and modifications thereof may be resorted to without departure from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a slidable door structure for wall enclosed vehicles, where in the closed position the door is flush with a vehicle wall, a combination of means for the advance of the door from the vehicle and for the lateral displacement of the advanced door alongside said wall, said means comprising a longitudinal horizontal member for the suspension of the door, said suspension member being displaceably supported inside of said vehicle and extending in the longitudinal direction thereof, rollers fixed in said vehicle for the support of said displaceable suspension member, at least one lever mechanism rotatably supported on said suspension member, said door being suspended from the lower end of said lever mechanism, a cavity enclosing guide rail for said lever mechanism located in the interior of said vehicle and extending parallel with said suspension member.

2. In a slidable door structure according to claim 1,

6 the upper end of the vertical lever mechanism extending into the inner cavity of the guide rail.

3. In a slidable door structure according to claim 1, the upper end of the vertical lever mechanism extending into the inner cavity of the guide rail and being provided'with a roller.

4. In a slidable door structure according to claim l, two sets of means for the advance of the door from the vehicle and for the lateral displacement thereof along said vehicle, said means being located in the vicinity of the upper and of the lower edge of said door.

5. In a slidable door structure for wall enclosed vehicles, where in the closed portion the door is flush with a vertical wall, a combination'of means for the advance of the door from its vertical closure position and for its lateral displacement alongside said wall, said means comprising a horizontal rod for the suspension of the door, said suspension rod being supported inside of said vehicle and extending in the longitudinal direction thereof, rollers fixed in said vehicle for the support and the displacement Yof said suspension rod, a double arm lever composed of a lower and an upper arm rotatably supported on said suspension rod, said lower lever arm being rotatably connected to the upper edge portion 'of said door, a guide rail located in the interior of said vehicle and extending parallel with and above said suspension rod, the upper lever arm extending into said guide rail, said suspension rod serving as a tilting axis for said double arm lever.

6. In a slidable door for vehicles which in its closure position is iiush with the vehicle wall, means for the outward lifting of said door from its closure position for a displacement along the outside of said wall and its return into said closure position, said means comprising a member for the suspension of the door, said member being located in the interior of the vehicle, means to enable a displacement of said suspension member in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a leverage rotatably supported by said suspension member and hingedly connected at its lower end with the upper edge portion of said door, a roller applied to said leverage and a guide rail located in the vehicle for the guidance of said roller said guide rail being provided with a curved bend at one end to outwardly swing said leverage, whereby the door suspended from said leverage upon its lift from the vehicle may be displaced parallel with and alongside said vehicle wall.

7. In a slidable door structure according to claim 6, the door suspension member comprising a guide rail mounted in the inside of the vehicle, two spaced rollers located in said rail in a superposed position and a guide block rotatablyconnected to the leverage system and slidably supported by said rollers.

8. In a slidable door structure according to claim 6, a handle attached to the inside of the door, a vertical rod vertically displaceably located at the edge of the door, the upper end of said rod being hingedly connected to the lower end of the leverage mechanism, and means inserted between said handle and said vertical rod to elect the vertical displacement of the latter.

9. In a slidable door for vehicles, which door in its closure position is ilush with the vehicle wall and is provided with a swingable leverage of which one end is hingedly connected with the upper door end, means for supporting and guiding said leverage permitting its displacement parallel to the vehicle wall, said means being located inside of the vehicle in such a manner as to permit the door carried by said swingable leverage to be outwardly lifted from the vehicle wall and to be displaced parallel to the outer Wall face by the displacement of said swingable leverage, a rail located inside said vehicle substantially parallel to said supporting and guiding means and being provided with a curved bend at one end to outwardly swing said leverage, a roller rotatably connected with said swingable leverage and coacting with said guide rail to tilt said leverage during its parallel displacement alongside the vehicle Wall whereby in forcing said door in the opening direction said leverage con nected with said dooris tilted by means of said roller in such a manner that the door is lifted in an outside direction and moved parallel to said wall into its open position and byforcing said door in lthe opposite direction said door is returned and relowered into its closed position.

10. In a slidable door arrangement according to claim 6 the means for the outside lift of the door from its closure position and its displacement along the outside of the vehicle Wall being applied to the upper and lower inner end portion of the door and to the Vehicle.

11. In a slidable door arrangement according to claim 6 said longitudinal door suspension member having a tubular shape and pairs of rollers to support said suspension member therebetween for its longitudinal displacement and its rotation.

12. In a slidable door arrangement for vehicles according to claim 6 the said suspension member being at its f upper end connected with a tube, a stationary rod to displaceably and rotatably support said tube and rollers to effect said displacement and said rotation.

13. Iny a slidable door arrangement for Vehicles ac- 8 cording to lclaim 6 the roller being attached by means of a lever to the top end of said leverage and above the same.

14. In a slidableV doorarrangement for vehicles according to claim 6 the roller being directly connected to said leverage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 836,952 Willour Nov. 27, 1906 860,959 A Baker July 23, 1907 903,406y Richabaugh Nov. 10, 1908 925,234 Schnepf June 15, 1909 1,266,922 Criswell May 21, 1918 1,443,521 Brandt` Jan. 30, 1923 1,611,536 Lacy Dec. 21, 1926 1,813,553 Van Dorn July 7, 1931 1,835,609 Oldfield Dec. 8, 1931 2,570,563' Kreimendahl Oct. 9, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 390,601 Great Britain Apr. 13, 1933 196,920 Switzerland July 1, 1938 532,367 Great vBritain Ian. 22, 1941 

